Birthdays are all about family time: Emraan Hashmi

Emraan Hashmi has had a bit of a tumultous year with his four-year-old son Ayan's illness. The tot was diagnosed with a tumour in his kidney that was found to be malignant. He was flown to Canada for treatment.

The worst now behind the actor, son Ayan is now on the road to recovery and has returned to Mumbai. Emraan reminisces "Last year on my birthday, my son was in Toronto undergoing treatement, so I couldn't spend time with my family. But, my close friends surprised me in the night, so it was quite sweet. This year, however, I have managed to get some time off, so may be an intimate gathering with close friends and family, followed by a short trip to some place close. What is special is that my entire family is here," the actor reveals.

The last year was taxing for the actor, personally and professionally and this has only resulted in Emraan evolving as a person. Talking about how his life changed for the better, Emraan says, "When you go though any kind of trauma, it changes your entire outlook to life. It either changes it positively or negatively but with me, there have been only poitive outcomes. As a family, as a father, we have all come out sronger. All our earlier problems seemed miniscule and small as compared to this one and if we have managed to surmount these, we now have the confidence to conquer anything else."

Professionally, he is looking forward to the release of Mr X, a film in a genre that is a sea chamge from what he has done until now. "Its like stepping into new terrain for me. It is a very unique film and though I wouldn't call it ba superhero film, I am excited to see how the audience reacts to something new like this."